a nice man trying to save his wicked sister. He says it does not make sense: Harry wanted her dead, but now wants to save her. Lettie sees him and seems happy to hang and leave him with the guilt on his shoulders. However, the entire sequence starting with Harry using the poison has been imaginary—Harry contemplating using it. As he pours it into a wastebasket, Deborah bursts in and says she did not go through with the wedding: it is Harry she loves, and they will go away and marry as they planned before. Cast George Sanders as Harry Melville Quincey Geraldine Fitzgerald as Lettie Quincey Ella Raines as Deborah Brown Sara Allgood as Nona Moyna Macgill as Hester Quincey Samuel S. Hinds as Dr. Adams Harry von Zell as Ben (as Harry VonZell) Judy Clark as Helen Coulter Irwin as Biff Wagner (as Coulter F. Irwin) Craig Reynolds as John Warren Production The final "it was all imaginary" plot twist was introduced because the Motion Picture Production Code would not allow murder to go unpunished. Critical reception Writing in The New York Times, film critic Bosley Crowther described the film as "a drab and monotonous succession of routine episodes" with a "script [that] is pictorially cut-and-dried." Crowther also noted that "Siodmak's direction is curiously slow and stiff" and that "George Sanders is badly miscast as the murderous Milquetoast, giving neither an illusion of timidity nor the menace of ugly temperament." Critic Rob Nixon wrote in Turner Classic Movies that although the film has "Siodmak’s name and expressionistic style attached [...] the greatest blow to this picture’s reputation is the tacked-on ending that negates anything of quality that came before," noting further that the film has "one of the most ludicrous happy endings ever committed to celluloid. Really, it must be seen to be believed, and no one would blame you if you have to rewind a few times to make sure of what you just watched." References External links Streaming audio 1952 Best Play radio adaptation of original play at Internet Archive 1945 films 1945 crime drama films 1945 romantic drama films American black-and-white films Film noir American films based on plays Films directed by Robert Siodmak American romantic drama films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Paul Dessau American crime drama films 1940s American films